Aung San Suu Kyi hosts ethnic tribes in Myanmar

Delegates gather in Naypyidaw for meeting aimed at ending separatist insurgencies that have claimed thousands of lives.
Hundreds of representatives of Myanmar’s ethnic tribes have gathered in the country’s capital for peace talks with the government aimed at ending decades of separatist insurgencies that have claimed thousands of lives.
The delegates, dressed in traditional garb and headgear, entered the conference hall in Naypyidaw on Wednesday for the five-day talks called by the new (...)

Delegates gather in Naypyidaw for meeting aimed at ending separatist insurgencies that have claimed thousands of lives.

Hundreds of representatives of Myanmar’s ethnic tribes have gathered in the country’s capital for peace talks with the government aimed at ending decades of separatist insurgencies that have claimed thousands of lives.

The delegates, dressed in traditional garb and headgear, entered the conference hall in Naypyidaw on Wednesday for the five-day talks called by the new government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Although her title is state counsellor, she is seen as the country’s real leader.

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Aung San Suu Kyi, UN chief Ban Ki-moon and General Min Aung Hlaing, the head of Myanmar’s armed forces, are scheduled to give speeches at the opening of the talks to determine the fate of the country’s various ethnic minorities, who make up about 40 percent of the population.

"All our people around the country want peace. So I do believe we will be successful in getting it at the conference," said Khun Than Myint, the facilitator of the meeting which is titled Union Peace Conference - 21st Century Panglong.

This is a reference to the Panglong Agreement brokered in 1947 by Aung San Suu Kyi’s late father, independence hero General Aung San, in a town called Panglong.

The 1947 deal granted ethnic minorities autonomy and the right to secede if they worked with the federal government to break away from Britain together.

Aung San was assassinated the following year and the deal fell apart. Since then, ethnic groups have accused successive, mostly military, governments of failing to honour the 1947 pact, just before Myanmar gained independence from Britain the next year.

This week’s conference is being attended by 17 of the 20 main armed groups, including the Karen, Kachin, Shan and Wa, along with other stakeholders.

A representative of Kachin state told Al Jazeera the most important thing was that everybody will be treated equally at the table during the five-day peace conference.

Khua Uk Lian, assistant general secretary with the Chin National Front, said he was optimistic about the talks but warned that fighting would continue until a myriad of local issues - from drug addiction epidemics to resource tussles - were settled on the ground.

"You have local commanders fighting about local problems," he told AFP news agency. "It’s been like this since we have been fighting."

The first uprising - launched by the ethnic Karen - began shortly after independence.

Since then, other ethnic groups have also taken up arms. Skirmishes, particularly in northern zones, have displaced more than 100,000 civilians since 2011.

At least 100,000 more have sought refuge in squalid camps in neighbouring Thailand, and are unlikely to return home until true peace takes hold.

The rebel armies control a patchwork of remote territories rich in jade and timber that are located mostly in the north and east along the borders with China and Thailand.

Aung San Suu Kyi promised that bringing peace would be her top priority when her government assumed power earlier this year after decades of military rule.

The previous military-backed government brokered individual truces with various insurgent groups and oversaw a cease-fire covering eight minor insurgencies last year that fell short of a nationwide deal.

Al Jazeera’s Scott Heidler, reporting from Naypidaw said after several decades of conflict in the country, it will take a lot of back and forth on certain issues before the states can move forward with a peace accord.

Aung San Suu Kyi promised that bringing peace would be her top priority

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